1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to sensors and imaging systems, and more particularly to tomographic systems.
2. Background of the Related Art
Tomography involves the measurement of a set of source projections from a source, and inverting the measurement to estimate source characteristics or variables. The projections typically consist of electromagnetic or acoustic energy, but can also include any form of energy, which can be caused to propagate through a medium. The most common method of tomographic imaging inverts a discrete set of projection measurements to estimate source distribution as a point wise projection in normal or hyperspectral space. The inverted set of projections can yield an image of the interior of the medium through which the projections passed. Tomography finds application in a wide range of detecting and imaging fields, such as medicine, seismology, and non-destructive testing. Tomography is a calculation intensive process done numerically by computers, and thus the process is also referred to as “computer tomography.”
In most tomographic imaging systems, image reconstruction requires long computation times, due to the large number of data points and processing steps required. In addition, achieving multi-dimensional source reconstruction with traditional tomography requires the use of spatial and temporal scanning.